The day the world came to a standstill
by KAITREDNINJAGO
Summary: This is a one-shot tribute to September 11th, 2001. This is a tribute to all who died, fought, and were wounded.
**Hey guys its me! I've decided (even though it's months from the date) to write a tribute to all the people that were wounded, who fought, and who died on September 11th, story is a one-shot so don't bother following the story. If you don't approve of me doing this… then don't read it. Anyway hope you enjoy it and review and favorite!**

Kai's POV

I patrol through the streets of NYC already busy and bustling with people. I push a piece of my brown hair out of one of my Golden-red eyes and tuck it into my hat that sits low on my head. My eyes scan across the sky. It is blue and cloudless like a vast ocean stretching across the endless horizon.

I walk past the Trade Center. The steel structures gleam in the morning sun and I have to crane my head to see it. I smile slightly and keep walking. My eyebrows raise slightly as my sensitive ears pick up a noise in the distance. I turn around to see what it is.

 _It's a plane.._

It cuts through the sea of endless blue….

I would usually think nothing of it but I notice that this plane is really a passenger jet and that it is flying lower than usual. I blink and then as if in slow motion I see the jet crash into the side of one of the towers…

BOOM!

My eyes widen as a fireball emits from the site of the crash. I stand frozen and wide-eyed thoughts buzzing through my head.

My radio comes to life snapping me back into reality.

"All units report to the lobby."

I bite my lip and shake my head slightly in disbelief. I take off running towards the station. I look up to access the damage just in time to see a piece of debris falling from the sky. It hits me just above my right eye and a burst of pain rattles my skull. I wince as I feel something sliding down my forehead, knowing its blood. I continue towards the station.

I crash into the lobby of the NYPD. 40 pairs of eyes train onto me but I ignore them. I step in front of the crowd.. "The World Trade center just took a hit.. By what looks like a passenger jet.." I say in a stern tone "They are evacuating as a precaution. If you hear your name step forward."

I read off a list of names. I then motion them to follow me. We walk out the front doors and walk the short distance to the World Trade Center.

As we get closer we see people gathered on the sidewalks all looking up at the column of smoke coming out of the side of the North Tower. I turn towards the men dressed in the same crisp blue uniform as mine.

All of them are looking up at the building terror and confusion in their expression. I take a deep breath silently thankful for the 6 years I served in the Navy Seals knowing that it will come in handy today.

I clear my throat catching their attention.

"I'm taking a crew up to help evacuate.. If you w volunteer to go in.. step forward.."

It takes a few moments before a couple of them step forward.. And then a few more. Five in all volunteer to go up and I nod. I order the remaining to stay near the towers and help help out.

I motion the others to follow me. We enter the North Tower and proceed towards the stairs, and we start climbing….

About an hour goes by before we reach the 30th floor. We split up and go help. I walk over to a couple of guys. One has midnight black hair and black eyes, another has brown hair with a red-orange tint to it and electric blue last has platinum blond hair and light blue eyes. As I walk over their eyes meet mine.

Cole's POV

My eyes dart up as a guy with golden-red eyes and wild brown hair walks up to us. I notice a long cut above his right eyebrow. He gives a curt nod before speaking

What's the situation here?" he says in a stern voice. His calm unusual eyes meet mine.

"The floors above us have too much smoke so we are sitting tight until we get some equipment to go up."

The guy nods slightly.

"And who may you be?" I ask.

He frowns slightly "Lt. Kernel Kai Smith at your service" he says smirking slightly.

I nod and chuckle "Anything shorter I can call you?"

A trace of a smile reaches his lips "just Kai."

"Wait, wait, wait!'' The ginger known as Jay calls out.

"Did you say Lt. Kernel?!"

Kai nod slightly and Jay stares wide-eyed.

"What branch?" Jay asks

"Um.. The Navy Seals.."

Jay's mouth seems to drop to the floor. I roll my eyes "Nice to meet you Kai.. I'm Cole, the dumb ginger over there is Jay and that's Zane" I say in a slightly annoyed tone.

Kai nods slightly as the scowl remains on his face. The frown seems permanent on his sharp features.

I notice Kai's eyebrows raise and he turns towards the un-working elevator. Suddenly blue and orange flames burst from the shaft. Kai throws himself in front of the three of us as the explosion throws us backwards. Everything goes black….

I groan slightly and open my eyes. They are met with the now blackened face of Kai. His eyes are no longer calm but they are filled with pain and terror. They seem to match the flames that now dance around us. I stand up to see Kai carrying an unconscious Zane and Jay on his back.

"We have to get out of this building! NOW!"

I recognize the voice. This was not the guy that I had met moments before. This was a commanding officer taking charge in the midst of war.

I nod and we take off down the stairs. Even with Jay and Zane on his back I still have trouble keeping up with him. We make it to the ground floor in record time. Kai wastes no time in getting through the front doors of the WTC. We run through the glass doors into the streets.

 _And then the shaking and the ear-splitting sounds of breaking glass…_

Kai grabs my arm and I notice the burns that run up the length of it. We run over to a nearby store. Kai throws Jay and Zane on the floor inside the building while I stand frozen outside the door watching the cloud of debris rushing towards us.

I feel Kai yank me into the shop. He pushes me to the floor. I spin around to see him. He is closing the door, The windows blow out and I yell and shut my eyes. I feel something fall on top of me. I open one eyes slightly to find Kai unconscious, blood pouring from his head. I grab him and pull him close to me as all hell breaks loose outside.

I remember waking up only to find myself in the same situation… The shaking starts again and I yell once more… Then like before it goes black….

My eyes snap open and I cough loudly. Everything is covered in dust and debris. Zane and Jay stir a bit and slowly come back to life. My eyes adjust a bit and I stand up and something slumps against my foot. I look down to see Kai. He is laying on his back. He is covered in dust and burns cover the entire length of his body. His brown hair is plastered to his face with blood and his golden-red orbs are hidden by eyelids and long dark eyeslashes.

I kneel down and set him up against what looks to be the shop counter. I take off my belt and strip myself of my white dust colored uniform shirt. I take off my undershirt and put my uniform shirt back on. I take the white cloth and press it to one of the newer cuts on Kai's head.

Jay rushes over to him

"Is he dead?!" he says in a high-pitched squeak.

As soon as the word exit his mouth a groan is heard. We turn towards our fallen friend. Long thick eyelashes open and his golden-red orbs meet my black ones.

"That answer your question?" I grumble.

Zane walks over to the door and gasps "g-guys.. You've got see this.." I remove my now red bloodsoaked undershirt from Kai's head and I help him up and over to the door.

"W-what h-happened to the b-buildings?" Jay asks softly.

I'm surprised that Kai answers "They're gone Jay.. they fell.''

Kai looks down and for the first time a helpless look crosses his face.

"All those people…" Jay says barely above a whisper.

"Kai? You alright?" I ask in a gruff voice

Kai looks up at us..

"My sister worked in those buildings!" he says wide-eyed.

Everything clicks and Kai pushes past us running towards what used to be the World Trade Center.

We grab him and he fights and yells curses at us as tears run down his face. He soon calms down and eventually passes out. We set him down on the ground. After what seems like hours ambulances arrive. Two EMT's jog over to us but glance over to see Kai and run back to get a stretcher. They scoop him up and load him on the back.

A couple others check us for injuries and walk off to help others when they conclude ours minor. One question still burned in the back of my mind… Why did he jump in front of us?

My thoughts are interrupted when a woman with short black hair walks past us yelling out Kai's name. 'Maybe that's his sister' I think to myself.

I wipe the dust off my face a bit and walk over to her.

"Hello Miss… can I help you?" I ask.

She looks over to me and smiles a little

"I'm looking for my brother" she says desperately.

I grin "He wouldn't happen to be Lt. Kernel Kai Smith would he?"

Her eyes light up and she laughs a bit

"Yeah that's him" she says.

"They just took him to the hospital" her eyes widen "would it be alright if we escort you there?"

She nods slightly.. I motion for Jay and Zane to follow. Jay walks beside her and starts talking to her, but I pay no attention as my mind wanders.

We reach the PAPD and I grab the keys to the squad car. The windows are blown out but the engine still starts. We all hop in me and Zane in the front and her and Jay in the back.

We drive to the nearest hospital and (we soon learned her to be) Nya agrees to let us come with her. We walk up to the desk.

"K-Kai Smith" she says in a shaky voice. The woman frowns a bit "he's in Trauma bay 4.. I'll open the door to let you back."

A click is heard and all four of us walk through the doos. The ED is bustling with noise as nurses and doctors run throughout the hallways. We rush to the room labeled ''Trauma 4." We push our way through the wooden doors to find Kai.

His face is black with soot and dust and he is hooked up with many different machines. Bandages cover his arms and legs. He sleeps soundly his chest rising and falling.

"Kai!" Nya gasps. She rushes over and plops down in a chair beside him and hold one of his blackened bandaged hands. Golden-red eyes look over to her. I see a smile cross his features.

'Why wasn't he a model instead of a Navy Seal.. or a police officer.' I think to myself.

The thoughts leaves my mind when Kai speaks "Hey guys… Cole, Zane, Jay"

My eyes meet his and I nod

Kai's eyelids almost instantly begin to droop. The nurse walks into the room..

"We are taking him to surgery now.."

We all nod and Nya bends down and kisses his blackened forehead and walks out of the room and down the hall… Jay runs up to catch up with her..

Zane and I walk to the lobby of the hospital. We meet Jay and Nya and after a short conversation we decide to head to the cafeteria. As we walk to the elevators we notice the people lined up and down hallways of the hospital.

I lower my head and look down as we past them when I realize that most of the people they were waiting for they would never see alive if at all…

We reach the elevator and head down to the cafeteria. I look at the large digital clock over the eating area. It reads 4:50. I sigh and walk over and grab a tray. The other groan when they realize they have no money… I reach into my pocket and fish out my wallet. I brush the dust off of it and grab some cash..

I pay for the meals and we all sit at a table. None of us eat our food. The table is silent and a dark cloud seems to hang over us. I look around before my eyes train on a wall filled with many colorful posters.

I stand up and walk over to it and my heart sinks when I realize they are all missing posters. I quickly walk back to the table and sit down. The others begin eating but I know none of us have much of an appetite.

I sigh for the hundredth time and stand up "I'm leaving and going back to the towers. People have had to have survived this."

Zane nods a bit "I will go as well" I nod slightly.

My eyes meet Jay's electric blue "You stay here with Nya"

Jay nods as Nya continues to look down at her lap.

"We will be back at 7." I motion over to the clock.

Jay nods "We'll be here."

I nod and turn on my heels and walk out the door Zane following close behind. We walk out to the parking lot and drive the short distance downtown. A chill shoots through my spine as we drive. The usually busy streets are deserted and empty.

I park about 3 blocks away from where the towers were. I step out of the car and look down. A 2 inch layer of dust sits beneath my feet. I close the door and Zane and I walk towards where the towers once stood.

As we get closer we see crowds gathering behind yellow caution tape and policemen desperately to keep them back. Zane and I push to the front of the crowd. One guy sees our uniforms and nods letting us through.

We duck under the tape and proceed towards the cloud of dust. I check my watch… _5:30_.

I look over to Zane and he nods slightly. We walk towards the wreckage silently hoping that we would find someone in this place of twisted metal and tear-stained faces.

It had been an hour since we had started looking.. To no avail.. Sweat ran down my forehead and raspy coughs were the only sound that managed to reach my lips. I looked at my watch _6:32_

I sigh "Time to go Zane." I turn around to face my unusually silent comrade. He nods and starts walking back towards the car. We walk the short trek and step in the car. I start the engine and start driving. The trip to the hospital is silent. We park in the hospital parking deck and walk in.

After a bit of searching and asking a couple hospital workers we get Kai's hospital room number. We ride the elevator a few floors up and walk through the hallways until we find the right room.

I knock lightly and then walk in. Kai sits in a bed the clean white sheets stopping just above his waist, barely covering his toes. Nya lays in a chair nearby sound asleep. Jay is off to the side in another chair. His head rests on his chest and his soft snores echo throughout the small room.

The TV hums in the background. The events of the day flash across the screen. Kai is awake staring at the screen. I lower my head to avoid watching.

Zane sighs and speaks up "I'm heading home.."

I look at and nod.. I hold up the keys to the patrol car and he shakes his head.

"I can grab a cab or walk." I hesitate before nodding and with that he's gone.

Thoughts swim in my head but I quickly shake them off. I pull up a chair and sit down beside Kai. He gives no acknowledgement that he knows that I'm there even though he's awake.

All of a sudden I open my mouth and speak "They called off the search since it was getting dark. We couldn't even see in front of us."

A live shot of the rubble shows up on the screen the smoke rising high into the sky.

I'm surprised when Kai answers.. And his words shock me even more

"It's like God made a curtain with the smoke… shielding us from we are not yet ready to see."

The words burn a hole in my head and I know the words will remain in my mind.. Forever.

Kai's POV

Gradually over time I got better. I was discharged from the hospital and eventually Zane, Cole, Jay, and I all became best friends. I served 3 terms in the Navy Seals in Iraq despite the injuries I had sustained..

Eventually all the rubble was cleared away and turned into a memorial. The events of September 11th scarred all of us both mentally and physically.

We all still wake from terrifying nightmares of the people jumping from the building or of the buildings collapsing onto us.

Bust as the seasons change and the days past.. Time went on…

The scars faded….

But one thing will always remain the same…

The attacks of 9/11 showed us what people are truly capable of.. The evil and chaos sure.. But it also showed us the good in people we had all but forgotten existed…. 9/11 brought families, friends and this country closer together.

But no matter how much time goes by there is one thing that will never change…

We will never forget the the _the world came to a standstill_

We will never forget the day that the buildings fell as well as the many that fell with them.

We will never forget the ones that fought, died, and were injured.

We will never forget the day the _world became a curtain of smoke_

 _ **No… we will never forget September 11th, 2001.**_


End file.
